Chaplain Jim Cosgrove's Poem 'Stronger Than Grief'

Australia’s new dependence on America resulted in a large influx of American soldiers to Australia and while Australian society was initially accepting and welcoming of their unorthodox culture, behaviours and morals, this quickly turned to contempt and created an unsavoury relationship between Australians and Americans whom they saw as being a bad influence on the women and youth of Australia. Australians regarded Americans as being, “overpaid, oversexed and over-here”. However, while this had the possibility to cause influential divides in society, Australians realised the necessity for the American presence in their country and the security they had provided, overruling any irritation felt towards them. The Australian war effort in the pacific regions had also served to amplify and fuel the ‘Anzac legend’ creating a national sense of pride and unity during the war. Australia’s involvement in the Second World War thus served to create a more independent Australia, in charge of its own policies and decisions in foreign affairs, creating cohesion within society.

The Gallipoli campaign was described as the baptism of the newly federated Australia, and a chance for Australian soldiers to prove themselves to the world. They were not ultimately victorious, but the soldiers came to represent the character traits of the new country: fit and healthy, duty bound and courageous, good humored and egalitarian. The ANZAC image allowed Australians to both demonstrate loyalty to Britain, and claim an identity of their own. There is much to challenge the factual accuracy of the ANZAC image.

This poem relates to Aboriginal Australian as it was written by the hand and views of one, and was written for the Aboriginals. The text itself is very emotive and powerful and I personally was unable to resist the emotions it reverberates however I cannot say whether it would be the same for anyone who could read it.

The poems by Komninos and Langley also use tone to relay the persona’s attitude. In Komninos’ poem, the persona, who happens to be the poet, is fed up of being treated differently by Australians because of his heritage and is using the poem to “assert” himself “as an Australian… as an artist.” In Langley’s poem, the Australian persona relays a positive view of Australia, representing Australians as compassionate, educated and respectful whilst relaying an unfavourable opinion of immigrants, portraying them as self-absorbed and “god-like” in an unnatural, unfitting sense. Tone is helped to represent Australian identity by the use of a persona and the use of language in the text.

Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.

Australia is a young, modern country made up of a diverse and multicultural population, therefore, it’s difficult to say that it has a single national identity. This essay will examine what Australia’s identity may look like, specifically, through art.

Damian Morgan uses some figurative language to help convey his message as well as position the reader to feel the ANZAC pride. He uses the acronym ‘ANZAC’ once within the poem (stanza two, line four), but it is a metonym that represents so much. It represents the wars Australia has and is currently fighting in, who were or are lost, but it also represents those who have survived another day.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am here to bring forth some poems that represent our beautiful country for the Australian day anthology. Australians identity is a wonderful thing with our mate ship and way of life respected throughout the world. Our acknowledgement of our past makes us the country we are and creates the country we have, with the pride shared between all who happily call Australia there home. These poems explore our country’s pride through times of hardship, this being the Vietnam war. And how our strong mate ship and pride helped us prevail through this time. These are very clear throughout the poems becoming clear staple pieces for this era.

This is highlighted through Clayton’s use of rhyme as the last two verses - “The Anzac marches he badly neglected,” and “Would show to his comrades how he was rejected” - are especially important as the reader realises that the soldier is now an outcast in both the white and black communities. In response to this rejection, the soldier “sold all his medals he once proudly wore” as “They were of no use to him any more”. Like Clayton’s poem, the melancholic tone of “The Photograph” is the same as the one in “The Black Rat” despite the vastly different events unfolding. Kocan’s poem takes a turn for the worst as it describes what happens to the family once they are informed of Jim’s death, using a hyperbole technique in “Makes something die in all of them” in reference to the family’s reaction to the news of his

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.

‘We’re all Australians now’ draws the reader to see the war from a positive Australia home front perspective. Texts from

Australian’s have a unique proud culture. This culture differentiates them from the British motherland. Through many decades Australia has formed a unique, which at its foundation is made from mateship. Mateship or friendship is the core of Australian identity as this was instilled into them through events such as war. WWII in particular demonstrates the level of mateship shown by Australians as many made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save a mate. The stories of ‘The Magic Pudding’ by Gary Crew & Shaun Tan and ‘Memorial’ by Norman Lindsay will demonstrate how mateship is a significant part of how Australians see

1914, was the year Britain asked Australia for men to fight against rival countries in war, such as Germany. On the 10th of August 1914, recruitment started and many Australian men were already ready and influenced to enlist. Numerous Australian men enlisted to protect the ‘Mother Country’, Britain , but though, protecting the ‘Mother Country’ would sound much more heroic, several men enlisted for other reasons such as, romance, adventure, and pride. After days, 40 000 men enlisted and they all had a reason, from protecting the ‘Mother Country’ also known as Britain, to the romantic views of war and the romance that can come out of it.

To conclude, John Schumann’s ballad captures the feelings of the diggers in a modest and respectful way. The young Australians were sold a romantic ideal of the glory and honour of battle. However, in reality, the violence and horror of war stole away their innocence, which resulted in great struggle after they returned home from the horrors of war.

Introduction The Following comparative essay is comparing two poems that follow the topic of war, the two poems are ‘Men In Green’ By David Campbell which is written about World War II and ‘Anzac’ which is Written by John Bretheron, this one is written about the Anzac. Poems, and in this case war poems have existed for many many years, usually they portray the horrors that is war and the consequences of war but this is not always the case, some people create poems to portray the necessity of it, but in this case the two poems being reviewed are against war as something that should not be glorified.